* I made banana and walnut muffins today, and they were yummy. I gave half to Bill and Diane from the Post Office, because they are lovely people and I didn't manage a Chrissy prezzie for them last year.

* Our estate agent has put back our rent inspection a month at my request. Basically told her we were in the middle of sorting/rearranging, and the house would be a mess.

* I had two extra lovely emails and a beautiful text message in the last week. The emails were from customers. -One was writing to say how much her son loved his cyberman figure, and to thank me for the extra DVDs I burned of the Sarah Jane Adventures as a birthday bonus. He was apparently very impressed with my dalek picture with the "Happy Birthday" speech balloon. -The second customer was someone who bought a Voice Control Dalek. He's a high school teacher and is using it to get his students enthused about integrated electronics! How awesome is that? And he said he thinks he's gotten a few students interested in DW!-The last was an SMS from a friend who was going through a bad patch. I had "COCK"ed her without knowing this, and she wrote back asking me how I knew she'd been trying to contact me. I offered what support I could, and said I wished I could be there to help. She wrote back and said 'I just wanted to tell you cos you make it better'That lines chokes me up every time I think of it.

* We've pulled all the books off our bookshelves to do a sort. We only put the books we each want to keep into the keep pile. We had done this previously, but the movers re-intergrated all the discarded books which we hadn't quit gotten rid of.

* I've started a librarything.com account for the books we're keeping. So far we've got around 250 of our books entered.

* Of the books we're keeping, the majority are not going back on the shelves, but into boxes. We haven't got a new house yet, but expect to have one within the next 18 months at the most. If we pack a chunk of our books now, it will save us the hassle later.

* Packing is part of our long term pre-move plan. Start packing non-essentials now, since we know a move is inevitable.

* For two days in a row, Lex has made inarticulate noises in time with the musical thingy on his play gym. Only seems to do it the first time he hears it for the day. The first time I thought it was random chance that he managed to time his noises exactly with the first half of the music. With the second occurrence I'm not so sure. Both times he lost the tune at the same place. Be interesting to see if this continues.

* I also got a lovely critique of the story I wrote for cupidsbow. She managed to pick what was wrong with the ending and articulated her reasons well. Her suggestions are great. Just need to make the rather minor changes and then I suppose I'll shop the bugger around. I love getting constructive criticism. I take to it like a beer-gut to a truckie.

* I've been rewatching episodes of The Real Ghostbusters, which is every bit as well written as I remember. Good writing that involves some fun and varied situations, and not solving every problem with proton packs.

* I'm also reading (damn but I love being able to read again!) Stanislaw Lem's book of essays on science fiction, Microworlds. I really am enjoying seeing what it is that he sees as so very wrong with western SF.

* If while at pancakes I start humping your leg, just try to ignore me. I haven't had sex since well before Lex was born, and I'm starting to feel it.

* I am excitedly awaiting the return of our reupholstered couch.

* Sharon and I have been watching The Professionals. It's really enjoyable. Bodie, Doyle, and Cowley are a great team and bounce off each other well. Plus it's fun to play spot-the-Doctor-Who-link with the actors or production team.

* I may be doing a short roadtrip back to Canberra with a mad beautiful bastard. If not, I... will do something else. I'll have a tent and a car, and two days to get back to Canberra by Tuesday night (Sharon's birthday), so I'm sure I'll come up with something.

* I'm still stunned that Marysville is gone. I've taken quite a few people up there over the years. Hell, Jocko, Phil and I worked on a fanzine and watched videos in a hotel there. One of the eating places has a cameo in a story I wrote ages ago, just because I like the place. I'd visit, but it's obviously not practical or desirable for all sorts of reasons.

* Looking forward to Swancon, though it will be a flying visit. We all fly in the night before, all fly out the day after pancakes.

* I've finished season 24 of Doctor Who. Yay! Now I can go back to season 2 and watch Web Planet to get the taste out of my mouth.

* I'm slowly improving with the swimming, but aren't getting along to practice. Recent weeks have been a mad hive of activity, stopping me from getting to things.

* I have managed to hurt my leg, strain my thumb, and burn the strained thumb all in a few days. I had less damage when Sharon hit me with the car a few months ago.

* Admittedly, I did charge the car as it was moving. But she did speed up!

* I have now seen Cloverfield. I found the first 18 minutes truly painful to watch. Then the movie improved dramatically, though I got seriously motion sick because of the camera work. Seen it now, it's good for what it is, but I don't need to see it again.

* New photos of Lex will be posted soon-ish.

* I need to be taking more photographs in general, and more of people specifically. I love taking pictures of people.

* Packing is part of our long term pre-move plan. Start packing non-essentials now, since we know a move is inevitable.

And you could be still unpacking them several months after the move too.

Drhoz and I certainly showed where our priorities where when we started unpacking - books came out first, then videos and DVDS. Clothes, on the other hand, mostly came out about 4 months later and we're still unpacking knick-nacks and kitchen stuff 8 months later.

Next thing you know, he'll decide he only wants to photographed on _his_ terms... which includes only at a distance or close up from behind... or while looking at the photographs you've already taken... (hmmm... perhaps I need to sort out an adapter for my old zoom lens sooner rather than later... Then I _can_ get nice close-ups of Bilby, from great distances:-) )

I found exactly the same with Cloverfield. The characters were all obnoxious, irritating, and painful to watch in party scenes -- but once the running and screaming started, I really liked it. I didn't get motion sick, but I never do.

I'm usually ok, but lots and lots of handheld camera work will get me. It's one of the reasons why I didn't bother going to see this at the cinema. That, I have to really want to see a film since we have to work around Lex, and I'm just not interested in giving my money any more to big US films with no redeeming features beyond their effects.

But yes, that first chunk, the party, all the vapid annoying characters. And Hud, who we couldn't get away from, acting like a dick. He was mostly fine once he was out of the party, except for his interactions with his crush.

Unlikely at this stage. Would like to, but the cost of getting the three of us to Swancon and Continuum 5, and trying to save more for a house deposit, means that we can't afford it unless one of my infrequent Tattslotto tickets comes in bigtime.

Plus, to be blunt, the sheer lack of info doesn't inspire me to commit my money. That said, I'm very impressed with the Paypal link on the website.

I think there's a bunch of people waiting to see if there's more info before committing. From here anyway. If it's definitely on and going I might even go to it for it is the only interstate one that *doesn't* conflict with the university schedule. (I think) Enticing though continuum is, it is slap bang in the middle of the time when I think I am lecturing.

Yeah, I am sorry Marysville is gone too. That was a good weekend--we went and saw the local sight(a waterfall) and wrote some stuff. I haven't felt like writing or doing LJ for a while now. Getting over Mum dying, then a workmate died of pancreatic cancer last Saturday week. So far 2009 is not too good.